II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3876 

To direct the Secretary of State to establish a national registry of Korean 

American divided families, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 6, 2024 

Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of State to establish a national 

registry of Korean American divided families, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Divided Families Na5 tional Registry Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL REGISTRY OF KOREAN AMERICAN DI7 VIDED FAMILIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, acting 

9 through the Special Envoy on North Korean Human 

10 Rights Issues, the Assistant Secretary of State for ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Mar 12, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3876.IS S3876

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1 sular Affairs, or such other individual as the Secretary 

2 may designate, shall— 

3 (1) identify Korean American families who wish 

4 to be reunited with family members residing in 

5 North Korea from which such Korean American 

6 families were divided after the signing of the Agree7 ment Concerning a Military Armistice in Korea, 

8 signed at Panmunjom July 27, 1953 (commonly re9 ferred to as the ‘‘Korean War Armistice Agree10 ment’’), in anticipation of future reunions for such 

11 families and family members, including in-person 

12 and video reunions; and 

13 (2) establish a national registry of the names 

14 and other relevant information of such Korean 

15 American families— 

16 (A) to facilitate such future reunions; and 

17 (B) to provide for a repository of informa18 tion about such Korean American families and 

19 family members in North Korea, including in20 formation about individuals who may be de21 ceased. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State 

24 $1,000,000 to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO FACILITATE DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE 

2 UNITED STATES AND NORTH KOREA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State should 

4 take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that any 

5 direct dialogue between the United States and North 

6 Korea includes progress towards holding future reunions 

7 for Korean American families and their family members 

8 in North Korea. 

9 (b) CONSULTATIONS.—The Secretary of State should 

10 consult with the Government of the Republic of Korea, 

11 as appropriate, in carrying out this section. 

12 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, act14 ing through the Special Envoy on North Korean 

15 Human Rights Issues, shall include in each report 

16 required under section 107(d) of the North Korean 

17 Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817(d)) a 

18 description of the consultations described in sub19 section (b) conducted during the year preceding the 

20 submission of the report. 

21 (2) ELEMENTS.—The reporting required under 

22 paragraph (1) should include— 

23 (A) the status of the national registry es24 tablished pursuant to section 2(a)(2); 

25 (B) the number of individuals included on 

26 the registry who— 


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1 (i) have met their family members in 

2 North Korea during previous reunions; and 

3 (ii) have yet to meet their family 

4 members in North Korea during previous 

5 reunions; 

6 (C) a summary of responses by North 

7 Korea to requests to hold reunions of divided 

8 families; and 

9 (D) a description of actions taken by 

10 North Korea that prevent the emigration of 

11 family members of Korean American families. 

12 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

13 DEFINED.—In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congres14 sional committees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Re15 lations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Af16 fairs of the House of Representatives. 

Æ 


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